This award was established by Professor Drew Schwartz, who served on our faculty for over 40 years.

About Drew Schwartz

Drew Schwartz began his study of plant genetics at Pennsylvania State College where he majored in horticulture. After graduation, he served in the U.S. Army from 1942-1946, where he saw active duty in the Burma and India theater. After his discharge, Schwartz enrolled in the Department of Botany at Columbia University, where he obtained an M.A. in 1948 and a Ph.D. in 1950. He held positions at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and at Western Reserve University before joining the Indiana University faculty in 1964.

Schwartz has made many genetic discoveries and analyses in maize. Some of his groundbreaking discoveries include the first case in higher organisms of the identification of the protein product of a known, precisely mapped gene, which produces a distinct phenotype. The shrunken gene on chromosome 9 (Sh1) specifies the major protein in the maize kernel, sucrose synthetase. Most of his subsequent research has involved the molecular analysis of allelic isozymes and analysis of the Ac/Ds transposable element system.

Even after his retirement, Schwartz continued his research on maize genetics. In 2009, he moved to Israel to be closer to his daughter.